Several cultural holiday markets are back, buzzing with local vendors and shoppers, and growing in popularity.
Arts and craft fairs are popping up to offer special handcrafted gifts as the holiday season rolls around. Many local vendors say cultural markets help them reach shoppers whose attention is harder to grab in larger marketplaces like online platforms.
As a vendor, Tara Perron, or also known by her Dakota name, Tanáǧidaŋ Tó Wíŋ, moved her products from one place to another following different markets. When she opened a store to sell her goods, Tanáǧidaŋ Tó Wíŋ offered her place to vendors to sell their wares, too, and eventually launched an Indigenous arts and crafts fair to showcase her community’s culture.
“We did our first one, and it was jam-packed from start to finish,” she said. “People started reaching out to me from outside of Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota tribal members, and it just kept on getting bigger.”
Here’s a list of cultural holiday markets in the Twin Cities area:
3rd Annual Aasha Dei Gala & Christmas Market
Aasha Dei, a nonprofit that serves vulnerable women and children in India, is hosting its annual gala and Christmas market in St. Paul.
Most of the products for sale are made from Indian women who are supported by the organization. The products include tea, textiles and jewelry. Traditional Indian clothing will also be available for purchase, but is not made by the women. All sales will support women and children in India, said Annie Ellis, one of the nonprofit’s board members.
“By supporting these women, we’re giving them opportunities for safe housing, for school fees, for the children, for trades training, food security and everything in between,” she said.
The gala will feature Indian carolers singing traditional Christmas songs in Hindi and Telugu. The event will also include Indian Kreeda, which is similar to a raffle, where attendees can win prizes.
When: December 6, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Bethel Christian Fellowship church, 1466 Portland Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104
Cost: $44.52
For more information: Visit the gala’s Eventbrite page.
Holiday Gift Market: Made in Tanzania
Project Zawadi’s holiday market aims to provide educational opportunities for children in Tanzania.
The market is small scale, said Karen Stupic, an emeritus board member for the nonprofit. All of the products for sale, including bags, aprons and wool blankets, are made by Tanzanian artisans. Some are bought in Tanzania and resold at the market, while others are made by students in a tailoring apprenticeship program run by the nonprofit.
Many of the products were selected to showcase different cultures in Tanzania, which is a massive country with diverse communities, Stupic said.
“I think that even if you’ve never been to East Africa or to Tanzania, if you love different colorful, beautiful things, unique items – this is an opportunity to see some things that you won’t find anywhere else,” she said.
When: December 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Tula Yoga and Wellness studio, 99 Snelling Ave. N., St Paul, MN 55104
Cost: Free.
For more information: Visit the Facebook event page.
Indigenous Holiday and Native Night Market
The Indigenous Holiday Market’s theme this year is “Indigenous Joy,” and will feature a Native DJ playing music.
The market will feature about 20 different Indigenous vendors who are mostly local; a few are from nearby states, including North and South Dakota. Products for sale include Native herbal remedies, beadwork, wild rice, candles, soaps, canvas art and jams. The event will also include food trucks.
Tanáǧidaŋ Tó Wíŋ, Trickster Tacos and Flores De Miel helped start the Native Night Market, which launched a couple of months ago. The Night Market is held every second Friday of the month at the same location from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Native Night Market’s theme is focused on families with children. Along with many of the same products from the holiday market, the night market will include a puppet show and Indigenous children’s book authors reading and signing their books.
“I think that’s really important, because there was a time in Minnesota when that wasn’t okay, and that wasn’t – them types of things weren’t uplifted,” Tanáǧidaŋ Tó Wíŋ said. “But when we have our markets, we can uplift that.”
When: Indigenous Holiday Market, December 8 and 15, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Native Night Market, December 13, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, 788 E. 7th St., St Paul, MN 55106
Cost: Free.
For more information: Visit the Facebook pages for the Indigenous Holiday Market and the Native Night Market.
Fiesta Craft Market and Holiday Celebration
For the first time this year, a holiday market will center on the Latino and Anglo community, said Grecia Lozano, event organizer and executive director of Latino Voices, an organization that serves the Latino community in Carver County.
The holiday market will feature a live band playing songs from the ‘90s in Spanish and in English. Children will kickstart the event by smashing a piñata filled with candy. An Aztec dance troupe will perform in the afternoon.
About a dozen Latino and Anglo vendors will sell jewelry, beadwork and traditional clothing, among other goods, said Melani Coleman, the event coordinator.
“We know that the political climate right now is very difficult for both communities, and that we are entering an era in which there is a lot of polarity,” said Lozano. “So it [the event] really is more of a come-and-get-to-know-your-neighbor kind of celebration versus educational piece.”
Some of the funds from the event will go towards Latino Voices, she said, adding that her priority is to host a “Latino celebration” for families.
When: December 14, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: ENKI Brewing Taproom & Eatery, 1495 Stieger Lake Ln., Victoria, MN 55386
Cost: Free.
For more information: Visit the market’s Facebook page.
Hmong Arts & Crafts Holiday Fair
The holiday fair will feature workshops and activities for children, such as paper crafts and letter writing to Santa. The market is part of the ongoing Hmong Arts & Crafts Fair, which is held at least twice a year.
The market will also include a donation drive for unopened toys for students at Txuj Ci HMong Language and Culture school in St. Paul. The drive will also accept gently used coats, mittens, pants and long-sleeved shirts for students at the school.
A Hmong-inspired bottle decorating workshop will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. that will cost $10 per bottle. A free wooden wreath ornament making workshop will be held from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Event organizer Amanda Yang was inspired to start the Hmong art fairs after she found it difficult to sell her Hmong products online on Facebook Marketplace.
“You can go in and target, like African American, they have a button for that,” she said of online search options. “But they don’t have a button for Hmong people.”
She knew there had to be more interested shoppers out there for her products and others like them, because of Minnesota’s large Hmong community. But she struggled to reach them online. That’s when she decided to organize a fair that would bring Hmong shoppers and local vendors together.
“This has to be an in-person thing, and I can market the event,” she said of planning the first fair. “I used to go around and put up posters at local businesses and stuff like that too.”
Her fair has quickly grown. Yang said she had about 15 local vendors at the first fair in 2017. This year, she has about 90.
“We just kept growing bigger and bigger as we got our name out there,” she said. “There’s so many talented Hmong artists out there, and every year, there always seems to be more Hmong people opening their own business.”
There will be a range of products on sale at the holiday fair, such as baked goods, stationary items, Hmong childrens’ books, clothing and canvas art.
“I’m really excited for this holiday craft fair,” Yang said. “It’ll be our biggest one yet.”
When: December 14, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Eagan Community Center, 1501 Central Pkwy., Eagan, MN 55121
Cost: Free.
For more information: Visit the Facebook event page.
